English

Alternative forms

• vigesimation

Noun

vicesimation

1. (rare) The destruction of one-twentieth of something; especially, the killing or putting to death of every twentieth person, especially by lot.
   • 1834, Samuel Hibbert et alii, History of the Foundations in Manchester of Chirst’s College, Chetham’s Hospital, and the Free Grammar School, volume 2, page 124

     The common prisoners…were ordered to cast lots for every twentieth man to be tried, as a sort of vicesimation.

   • 1901, Joseph Fitzgerald, Word and Phrase: True and False Use in English, page 273

     We must change the numerator of our fraction.…If one must have the precise fractional term in “ation,” and the loss is one in five, let him coin the word quintation…if one in twenty, vicesimation.

   • 1961, Victor M Yeates, Winged Victory, page 99

     ‘This seems to be a wonderful squadron. Fancy getting twenty Huns in one day! And for only one casualty.’
     ‘If you work out what one casualty a day mounts up to, you will notice that we shall all be casualties within a month. It’s daily vigesimation.’

   • 1964, Kenneth Burke [aut.] and Stanley Edgar Hyman [ed.], Perspectives by Incongruity, volume 2, page 58

     The practice…of putting to death every twentieth man. Am I…a victim of vigesimation?

   • 1995, David Grambs, Just Ask Mr. Wordwizard, page 123

     To decimate, originally, was a military punishment, determined by lot, whereby every tenth man was executed. A little luckier for the troops was vigesimation: every twentieth man was killed.

Coordinate terms

• (proportionate reduction, by single aliquot part): quintation (1/5), septimation (1/7), decimation (1/10), tricesimation (1/30), centesimation (1/100)

Translations